BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó



          SENATE COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION
                              Senator Carol Liu, Chair
                                2015 - 2016  Regular 

          Bill No:             AB 1091             
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          |Author:    |Eduardo Garcia                                       |
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          |Version:   |June 1, 2015                                Hearing  |
          |           |Date:      July 15, 2015                             |
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          |Urgency:   |No                     |Fiscal:      |Yes            |
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          |Consultant:|Olgalilia Ramirez                                    |
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          Subject:  Student financial aid:  Cal Grant Program

            SUMMARY
          
          This bill authorizes the California Student Aid Commission  
          (CSAC) to require verification of high school graduation to be  
          electronically submitted for high school graduates for the  
          purpose of determining financial aid eligibility, as specified  
          and requires the electronic submission of grade point average  
          information on a standardize form.

            BACKGROUND
          
       1)Existing law authorizes the Cal Grant program, administered by  
            the CSAC, to provide grants to financially needy students to  
            attend a college or university. The Cal Grant programs include  
            both the entitlement and the competitive Cal Grant awards. The  
            program consists of the Cal Grant A, Cal Grant B, and Cal  
            Grant C programs, and eligibility is based upon financial  
            need, grade point average, California residency and other  
            criteria.  (Education Code § 69430-69433)

       2)A school district is prohibited from permitting access to pupil  
            records without written parental consent but makes some  
            exceptions, as specified.  Current law authorizes school  
            districts to release information from pupil records to  
            agencies or organizations in connection with the application  
            of a pupil for, or receipt of, financial aid.  However,  
            information permitting the personal identification of a pupil  
            or his or her parents, may be disclosed only as necessary for  







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            the purpose to determine the eligibility of the pupil for  
            financial aid, to determine the amount of the financial aid,  
            to determine the conditions that will be imposed regarding the  
            financial aid, or to enforce the terms or conditions of the  
            financial aid.  (EC § 49076)

       3)Existing Law, requires grade point averages (GPAs) for Cal Grant  
            A and B applicants to be submitted to CSAC; requires GPAs to  
            include a certification by a school official that the GPA is  
            accurately reported; authorizes CSAC to establish grace  
            periods for the receipt of GPAs and corrections; and,  
            establishes Legislative intent that high schools and  
            institutions of higher education certify GPAs of students in  
            time to meet Cal Grant application deadlines.  (EC § 69432)   

       4)Existing law requires a GPA for all high school seniors at public  
            schools to be submitted to CSAC electronically by a school or  
            school district official and requires a school district to  
            provide an opportunity for a student and/or guardian to opt  
            out and requires students and/or guardians to be notified of  
            the opportunity to opt out. 
            (EC § 96432.9)  


            ANALYSIS
          
          This bill:

       1)Authorizes the California Student Aid Commission (CSAC) to  
            require verification of high school graduation to be  
            electronically submitted for high school graduates who  
            graduated from a public school, including charter schools, in  
            the prior academic year.

       2)Provides for an exception to the electronic submission of high  
            school graduation information for students who have opted out,  
            as specified under current law.

       3)Requires the electronic submission of grade point average  
            information on a standardize form.

       4)Declares legislative intent that high school districts verify the  
            graduation of their students in time to meet the established  
            deadlines and that the CSAC make available to high schools or  








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            high school districts a list of seniors who have and have not  
            completed the Free Application for Federal Student Aid or the  
            California Dream Act Application.  

       5)Establishes if the Commission on State Mandates determines that  
            this act contains costs mandated by the state, the state shall  
            reimburse the applicable entities. 

          STAFF COMMENTS
          
       1)Need for the bill. According to the author, the Cal Grant process  
            can be improved to eliminate barriers that will help student's  
            better access the aid they need to attend college, and help  
            school districts identify students who have not completed the  
            FAFSA. The author asserts that many students often times  
            become overwhelmed in the Cal Grant process or do not have  
            access to internet or other resources, and fail to complete  
            this important step that makes the difference between whether  
            they attend college or not. 

            This bill aims to streamline the financial aid process and  
            increase Cal Grant and FAFSA completion rates by requiring the  
            electronic submission of high school graduation information. 

       2)Existing process for verification: According to the CSAC the  
            method for providing verification varies depending on the  
            school district. For the most part, it is the responsibility  
            of the school district to submit the information to CSAC;  
            however, if the district fails to provide the information, the  
            responsibility falls on the student. Generally, most  
            submissions are electronic, but thousands of paper forms are  
            submitted that have to be keyed in manually. This bill seeks  
            to give the CSAC the authority to create a consistent process  
            to collect information necessary for determining Cal Grant  
            eligibility.

       3)Privacy rights.  The federal Family Educational Rights and  
            Privacy Act (FERPA) applies to all schools that receive  
            federal funding through the U.S. Department of Education and  
            protects the privacy of student educational records.   
            Generally, schools must have written permission from the  
            parent or eligible student in order to release any information  
            from a student's educational record.  However, schools are  
            authorized to disclose records without consent to specific  








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            parties or under specific conditions, including to appropriate  
            parties in connection with financial aid to a student.  This  
            exemption is currently used to authorize the provision of the  
            student's grade point average and graduation information to  
            California Student Aid Commission when a student is applying  
            for financial aid. 

            SUPPORT
          
          California School Boards Association
          Coachella Valley Economic Partnership 
          Education Trust West

            OPPOSITION
          
           None received.

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